The Shame of Trauma
The story you are about to read is a work of fiction taken from my upcoming novel
Narrator: Preys and predators
The Ijioma household was not a safe place for children because of sexual predators. The abuse happened secretly, as the victims were warned not to tell anyone otherwise, something terrible would happen to them. And being the young and naive as they were, the children kept quiet while the aberration persisted.
Virtually every young person in the Ijioma household was a victim. The house helps were the easy targets, especially Chinko. It got so bad that she grew numb to the abuse. Ifeanyi used her as his sex toy. Abusing her was his way of fighting his demons. On numerous occasions, he would force her down to her knees and stuff his cock in her mouth. She never had a choice but to suck it until he ejaculated in her mouth each time. He would then threaten that he would tell his mother to return her to the village if she told anyone. The poor girl dreaded the village...
The truth is that Ifeanyi hated himself for what he did to Chinko. But he convinced himself he needed to do that to reassure himself of his masculinity. For so long, he too had been sexually assaulted by his older brother to the extent he was questioning his sexuality. Therefore, in a desperate bid to reassure himself of his manliness, he resorted to coercing poor Chinko into sucking his dick every chance he got. He used her during those afternoons when it was just the two of them at home.
Ifeanyi was already done with secondary school and was home awaiting admission into the university. As such, he was always there every time Chinko got home from school. It didn't help that Chinko's school was closer to the house, meaning she always returned home before Ifeanyi's siblings did.
No one suspected what was going on between Ifeanyi and Chinko until the day Nnamdi stumbled upon them. That afternoon, he had gone to check on Chinko so they could go hawking together. But as he approached the flat, he could hear Ifeanyi moaning. Confused about what was happening, the boy quietly approached the room where the sound was emanating from. And just then, he saw Ifeanyi stepping away from Chinko while pulling up his sweatpants.
Chinko’s face was covered with thick semen and she was crying. As Ifeanyi walked away from her, she looked up only to behold Nnamdi peeping from the corner with utter disgust all over his face.
Days passed without the teens discussing that incident. Nnamdi was too disgusted and astonished to talk about it. And Chinko was too ashamed to explain it to him. But they both knew it was important for them to talk about it, especially Chinko because she worried that the boy might tell someone else. So, she swallowed her pride and had an awkward conversation.
“Let me begin by apologising that you had to witness that. But you should know that it happened against my will. There was no consent,” the girl explained as they both walked home from the depot where they usually bought crates of soft drunks.
“What do you mean it happened against your will?” Nnamdi asked. He couldn’t even look the girl in the eyes. He still hadn’t been able to erase the picture of her face smeared with Ifeanyi’s semen.
“He forced me to do it,” Chinko said just as her voice instantly got choked up with tears. “He has been forcing me to do it for a long time. I could not tell anyone because he always threatens to tell his mother to send me back to the village. I do not want to go back to the village. Life is more difficult there than it is here. That’s why I tolerate—”
“I honestly find it difficult to believe what you’re telling me,” Nnamdi said. “How can I be sure you are not lying to cover up the fact that you got caught?”
“Why should I lie about this? Somehow, I am glad you caught us. Although I was scared, I also wished you could have told someone about it. Perhaps, they would have believed you. In any case, I am not lying. By the way, I am not the only one he is doing that to.”
“What are you talking about?” Nnamdi asked.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know what happens in the general parlour at night—”
“What happens there?”
“You have to find out for yourself.”
Nnamdi was curious and determined to find out what happened in the parlour at night. So, he began monitoring the place. The parlour was seldom used, especially not at night. Little wonder the boy did not see anything unusual happening there, or at least so he thought. For many nights, he monitored the place until he got tired. And just then, he discovered it by accident.
On that eventful night, the boy searched everywhere for his brother but couldn’t find him. It was bedtime and Mrs Ijioma had threatened that she would not unlock the door to her flat once she locked it. So, Nnamdi looked everywhere for Chukwu but all to no avail. The only place remaining was the parlour. And as he got in there, he wasn’t prepared for what he saw.
The room was unlit when Nnamdi walked into it. And that was unusual because there was a tradition of always ensuring the room was lit up, even if it meant doing so with a kerosene lamp. As Nnamdi groped in the dark for the switch, he could hear some funny sounds coming from a corner of the room. And by the time he finally found the switch and turned it on, he saw his brother…